In keeping with our mission to provide comprehensive advertising analysis, MediaRadar puts together a report of the most important mergers and acquisitions news each week. Stay in the loop, whether you sell advertising space or focus on business development. 

This week, TEGNA acquires acquires strategic local stations, Buffalo Wild Wings owner Inspire Brands will add Jimmy John’s to its portfolio and Vox will acquire New York Media. 

Nexstar Television Stations Acquired by TEGNA

TEGNA has completed its acquisition of 11 stations from Nexstar Media Group Inc. for $740 million in cash. 

The broadcast, digital media, and marketing services company has chosen the stations strategically, picking up for network affiliates in key presidential battleground states where they anticipate large local political ad sales. 

The acquisition was approved by the Federal Communications Commission, which has indicated willingness to loosen antitrust regulations on station ownership. The deal follows Nexstar’s recent acquisition of Tribune Media for $7.2 billion, making it the leading owner of local TV stations in the U.S., ahead of Sinclair Broadcast Group. 

Tegna reaches approximately one-third of all television households nationwide and controls a portfolio that includes affiliates of the four major broadcast networks in the top 25 markets. 

Inspire Brands Will Acquire Jimmy John’s 

Inspire Brands, the parent company of Arby’s, Buffalo Wild Wings, Sonic, and Rusty Taco, plans to add the sandwich joint Jimmy John’s to their portfolio of restaurant chains.

Jimmy John’s operates over 2,800 locations, which will increase the scope of Inspire Brands by about 25%, making Inspire the fourth-largest restaurant company in the United States. 

The deal is expected to close in late October. To fight competition from chains like Potbelly and Subway, Jimmy John’s looked to imitate the success of food-delivery services like GrubHub and UberEats with the implementation of an in-house delivery program. 

New York Media Being Acquired by Vox Media 

Vox Media, Inc. announced that it has agreed to acquire New York Media LLC, the parent company of New York magazine, The Cut, and Vulture in an all-stock transaction. 

Financial terms of the deal were not released, but according to the Wall Street Journal, the deal was valued at $105 million and it is expected to close this fall. 

Vox Media, a digital media company based in New York and Washington D.C., owns a family of websites including Vox, The Verge, and Recode. 

Like many startup media companies, Vox isn’t generating overall net income, but it has been expanding into different corners, such as events, podcasts and video licensing. Vox said that the combined company will have a broadened reach into a more diversified audience, attracting hundreds of millions of website visitors each month. The company emphasized that it will continue to expand into different categories to develop multiple revenue streams.

In Other News

These are some other notable deals and developments from the past week:

• II-VI Incorporated, a company that develops and manufactures engineered materials and opto-electronic components, has entered into a definitive merger with Finisar Corporation, a manufacturer of optical communication components and subsystems. II-VI acquired Finisar for a cash and stock transaction valued at approximately $3.2 billion.

• The privately owned restaurant, hospitality, gaming and entertainment company, Landry’s Inc. has announced its plans to acquire Del Frisco’s Double Eagle Steakhouses and the Del Frisco’s Grilles from private equity firm, L Catterton. The deal will cost Landry’s $650 million and  is expected to close at the end of October. 

• Fitbit, Inc. is reportedly hiring investment bank Qatalyst Partners to explore the possibility of a sale amid the company’s lackluster performance in its core wearable technology market.

• The world’s largest brewer, Anheuser-Busch InBev, owner of Budweiser, Beck’s and Stella Artois, announced that it is set to launch the IPO for its Asia business at $3.44 a share, which would raise the company approximately $5 billion. 

• The Hyundai Motor Group and auto parts manufacturer Aptiv PLC announced that they are forming a $4 billion joint venture company to design and develop self-driving cars.  

• Workspace sharing company WeWork announced that its Co-founder and CEO Adam Newmann has stepped down from his role after its recent IPO plan hit a major wall; WeWork has since lowered its valuation to as low as $10 billion from its previous high of $47 billion and delayed its IPO indefinitely.